Envelop sealing and stamping machine.



'PATBII TED (MAR. 20, 1906.

BRIAN.

BNVELOP SEAL ING'AND STAMPING MACHINE.

ABPLIOATIION FILED JULY s1,19o5..

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

JaizEZWmnwa V Fix/finesse? 4/ my 7 I .Attbrn eys No. 815,494. BATENTBDMAR. 20,- 1906. I J; T. VANNESS & H. 3. OBRIAN. v

ENVELOP SEALING AND STAMPINGMAGHINE.

APPLICATION FILED JU LY 31.19051 7 Witnesses AttoFr eys' Be it. known thatf we; Jonah-T. -VA 'NEss and-HARRY R. OBRIAN, citiien'stof the United States,;re'siding at Gxford,=. in the county of: Butlenand State'of Ohio;v have: invented a new anduseful Envelop Sealing and Stamp-i OFFICE 'JOHNQI-YANDQHARRY fn'; o R1AN oF oxnonn onio. ENVELoEs AuNe Npf'srA'M iNG.MACHI E; i I

' filers-. 194. 1 Y

' ing Machine, ofwh i h fl -following 1s a specito envelopsand other area es, an has for its" principal object-to provide a'mechanism5of.-

fication.- m 3 3 :3

This invention x elates toj machines of that class employedffor. applyin stain s or labels simple construction by which envelops may be Xa idly sealed and stamped. i

tenjed stamp;

-A- still further .obje'ct of the invention is to providea machine that will operate on both sides; of the envelop att-he same tin1e that' is to;s'ay,,ft o,'seal the rear flapand to, simule taneously apply a, stamp to the ,front of, the nvelo j I 1 A st1ll' f urther object (if the inventi onji s' to provide-a novel form of envelo emoistening means whereby the'gi mmed," apLI'nay be moistened as "it is fe'dtoward the foldinghnd pressin mechanism.

- Asti .f .ur ther objectof'zthe invention, is to b provide an improved means for automatically ejectin the, stamped and I sealed envelope fr m t eI'machine.

provide-a; novel form of starri'p feeding and i Severingmechanism-byiwhich'stamps .rnay

be detached from 'a sheetwithout the necestion consists 'mcertainnove I structlon and a'r'ra ement of l h h et: w stripseach x ng wofstamps.

same into contact m h, he 'enve article. v a

,panyinggdrawings ,an'd-; j' articnlarly pointed, out 1n the'jappended olai ms 'it .being understood thatjvarious changes the 'form, pros,

A portions, size, and minor details ofthe, struc fi my emde t de t s o he rther ob 'ect of the inventionis to pro-f I .vide a'rnachinesin which the same pressing mechanism serves to forcefia-moistened flap in place and" to apply the previously-moisrther ob-jectrof the. invention is to improve and 'Isimplify-.the: mechanism for 1 moistening'" the stamps prior ressing-ythel op. or; other .7 'nfinediii1 place With-these and other objects inview, as;-

e'atures? of "con 'j roller 1 is filled.

held outward by asmall spring or springs 20, 1,05

e in'ventiom E'Sp'ecifiation of Ltterslatent. 1 EatentedMarch 20, 1906. ii i licatioxiifiled InlvtlylQOfi. srinii lzv geei. Y

I s gnifier-sacrificing any of the advantagesof -I'n-tl1e accompanying-drawings, Figure l is a side-elevation of-anenVeIOp-Seahng and stainp-affixin 3 machine constructed in a'c-' cordance wit 1 the invention. Fig. 2 is a plan vlew of thesame. 'nal sectional VIGW of the inaehlne on the line 33 of Fig.2. Fig. 4-is a similar View on the line at 4 of Fig. 1, showing the parts in. a

slightly different position. Fig. 5 is a detail sectional View on-the line ofFig. 2, illustrating the connection betweenthe stamp-- carrying frame and the helically grooved -shaft'.- Fig. 6 is a detail perspective view of a portionof the stamp-supportingtable; showing thestamp-receiving recess. Fig. 7

- the stamp-moistenin roller.

Similar numeralso f reference are employed to indicate correspondin parts. throughout the several figures of the rawin The working parts of the mac neare su ported on a suitable framework, including 1n plate 11,,and at the front of themachine is j' arranged a-pair 'ofbrackets 1-2,.supp0rting 'a' the present instance standards 1 0 and a bed- Fig. 3 is a lon itudi-L is asectionalview, on an'enlar ed scale, of

platform or table 13, on which the envelops 'or similar articles are placedlin readiness to be fedtoathe machine. r .The front portion. of theframeis' rovided 'withbearings'for the reception of t efopposite ends of a shaft 14, on which is secured a H l 1 combined feeding and moistening roller -15, A still further object of the invention is to and -below this roller is a second feedin roller '16, that is normally held elevated by a suitable spring 17, theglperipheries ofjthe. two.

:rollersbemg drawn ti tly together-in order.

that they may act effectively iriifeedingthe,

:fe'lt 'or w'ickingi said stri' beingpartly-con Theupper roller 15 is hollow, and aportion secured to the spaced edges 'of the'roller proper and is-provided with suitable erforations for the p elgheoiwater wimw 'ch the 's absorbent material is so thatitmay properly en'gtge with and moisten the ummed ,fl apf o the envelop. These two rollers 15 and .16 are s'liitably op eratedin such manner as. to discharge-an eny a meta lic plate 19, that is 10o velop 'ontma tiltableftable 21 ,at each operano I tion of the machine, the gummed flap of the envelop being moistened in readiness to be pressed down on the rear face of the envelop. At the front of the machine is a frame 22, the lower side arms of which are pivotally connected 'to the frame pro er, and these side arms are connected toget er by a crossbar 23, having a suitable operating-handle 24. One of the arms of the frame is provided with a rearwardly projecting arcuate rack 25, which intermeshes with a pinion 26 on one end of the shaft 14, the length of the rack being such that thetwo rollers receive one complete revolution at each movement of the frame.

ecting inwardly from the upper portions of the side frames are headed pins 26, that extend through curved slots 27, formed in the upper ends of a pair of bars 28, the pins forming guides for the movement of said bars. The lower ends 'of the bars are provided with bearing-openings for the reception of the pintles of a pressing-roller 29, that is adapted to move over the table and fold the previouslymoistened flap over onto the envelo this roller moving. first in the direction 0' the front of the machine and then rearward, so that it passes over the flap twice at each operation. The opposite ends of the roller are supported on suitable inclined uides 30, carried by the inner faces of the ame members, and the two bars 28 are connected by links 31 to the frame 22, the forward ends of the links being pivotally connected to the frame and the rear ends thereof being provided with suitable slots 32, that receive pins 34, secured to the bars 28, these slots permitting the necessary lost motion of the roller during the operation of the machine. The upper ends of the bars '28- are connected by tension-springs 36 to fixed eyes 37 formed on the frame at a point to the rear of the bars, andsaid springs tend normally to throw the lower roller-carrying ends of the bars forward, and at the same time the springs serve to force the roller downward in order that it may exercise the necessary pressure on the fia of the envelop.

Near tr. e rear portion ofthe frame of the machine are arranged standards. 40, carrying I ah.orizontally-dis osed table 41, that extends transversely of t e machine. Thesestandar'dsalso serve as supports for a horizontally-disposedrod 42, t at serves as a guide for a pair of arms 43,.forming a part of a frame 44, that is movable transversely of the machine. The rear end o this frame is supported by an arm 45, that encircles a shaft 46, connected to suitable bearin s formed in the frame members. This sha t 46 is provided with a helical groove throughout its entire length, the groove bein arranged for the reception of a pin 47 that is carried by a lever 48, pivoted to the rearwardly-extending bar 45, and the rear end of said lever is extended to form a finger-piece 49, by which the pin may be raised from the groove when necessary. The frame 44 is provided with' suitable standards 50, forming bearings for the rece tion of a shaft 51, on which is necessary to sever the sheet into strips, as usually practiced in stamp-affixing machines. The stamps carried by this roller are so arranged that the outermost or edge row will rest on the horizontally-dis osed table 41 gummed side uppermost, an the frame and roller are traversed transversely of the machine to the extent of thewidth of a sin le stamp at each operation of the machine, this movement bein imparted by means of the helically-groove shaft 46. To one end of the roller is secured a flanged disk 53, that is provided with a lurality 'ofequidistant notches 54, spaced fi-om each other for a diso tance equal to the height of the stamp, and these notches are arranged to receive a sprin 55, that is carried by the frame, the flange disk and the roller being turned to the extent of one notch each time the roller is trav- 5 ersed completely across the machine and a row of ten stamps is consumed. At the same time the lever 49 is raised andpin 47 is moved from the helical groove, so that the frame and stamp-carrying roller may be shifted to the. too left and a fresh row of stamps moved over the table 41 in readiness to be applied to the envelops.

At the right-hand end of the machine is arran ed a suitable alarm in the form of a gong 1o 5 60, aving an operating member that is engaged by a pin 61, carried by the frame 44 at the end of each movement of the frame in or- 1 der that the operator may be warned of the completion of movement of the roller and the '1 1o fact that a row of stamps has been consumed.

Y Theframe of the machine is provided with bearings for a transversely-dis osed shaft 63, thatis provided at one end wit a loose gearwheel 64 and a fixed ratchet-wheel 65. The gear wheelcarries a pawl 66, that engages with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel, so that on movement .of the shaft and gear in one direction movement will be imparted, to the ear-wheel, and onmovement in the opposite r 20 o movement being 'This clamp; is arranged to engage withfthe' stamps in the row next to the row beingcut and in operation will be pressed a"-ainst the.

main stationa Y Arranged be ow the' shaft'63lisa shaft-J73, carrying a small pinio'n74 in: mesh with the 5 gear, and said shaft' 'is"alsfo' rovided Witha iworm75', intermeshing Wit a wormewhejel 76 on a shaft 77, that extends rearward under one side of the frame and is provided; nearits rear, end with a bevelinion 7 8,-intermeslnng 10 with a ear 79 on the elically-grooved'shaft 46, so i; at at each'forward movement of'the operating-framen22 the shaft 46 will be 4 turned and the frame 44 andthe stamp-caraymgroller will be moved to the ri ht fora r 5, lstanceequalto the width of a sing estamp,

, and the'extentof this movement may be a d fjiist ed with the utmost accuracy bysliding 1 vsil 'ed dis'tance fromthefshaftfig; 2o At 'a suitable point in the length of-the 'st'am -supporti'ng table 41 is a recess 80 ofa the collar 69 and locking'the'same at any '(le- .widt "equal at least to the Width of astamp,

and two of itsedges, 81 are sharpened in orv der to form'a' cutter which coacts with acor- 5 responding cuttin I edge formed at one side of, a curved, stain etaching block 83, .that is ca 'ed at the owe'r, rear end of an arm 84,

'seciired to thefshaft 63, This shaft 63 when i turned by the forward movement of the opero"atin frame 42"will r'ais'e the'stamp'-detachlock above the rowof stamps, while the latter, together with the stamp-carrying roller, is fed transversely of the machine to theextentof a sin 1e stamp ;'but on there-. 3 5 verse movement 0 "the 0 crating-frame the stamp-detaching block Wlll be forced down and a'stampwil be severedfromthe row, and jat theysame time the block will exercise a pullingstrain-on'the stani which will move the same from the'edge of t enext row,'a sin-';-

Two of the edgeso f the block 83 are sharpenedto coapt with the cutting edges of t e recess 80, and in order to pre'vent the detach;

.gle stamp bein'gthu's detached at each operlingofmoregthan a "single stamp. a clamping-- arm 85 is pivotedto the arm 84, theupper .l portion of the clamping-arm being connected tothe-arm by a-s'lpring 86 and its outward mitedby a stop-pin 87.

'secondfrow'of stamps before the' lockengages'the stamp to'bedetachedfroin thefirst.

TOW.

H The enyelo receivi'ng table 2'1,"pr eviously ifeferred to, is hinged atzits left-hand edge to -the;upper'portion of a left-hand framaJas shown'm Fig. 4, while 'the'rightahandfend' of.

l the table is suit'ably sulpported 'b :menibers at the ta le may be; 1 maintained normally in a horizontal position, i

of the frame in ordert #Pivoted tothe brac eta-9001i the underside,

V 5; of thetable isa stamp-applying lever 9l-, hav

ward or opposite direction the gear will remachine.

ing 'a head 92 of suflicient are'a to receive and support a single 'stam o'r'fof' proper size for} the reception of'a labe when" theg maohineis employed for attaching labels. This "head 92zisi arranged immediately under a recess '93,

formed at therear left-hand corner of the tag-W ble, a nd w'hen'the envelop isplacedin po sition' on thetable its upper right-hand cor-- ner will rest' over-said recess in position to re-' {move the stamp carried by the heacl92 1 "At ajfp'oint betvg een 'thefhead'92; and the I stamp -supporting"-' table-{i1 are arranged standards, 93', having-"bearings for the reception of a pair of rollers 94, over which passes an endlessbe1E95, that preferably is formed belt, however, being designed to come into contact wlththe outeror printed fa'ce of the stamp. The belt is so arranged with respect tothe stamp-detaching block 83 that'geaoh of rubber or similar material-t0 which the moistened stampwill not readily adhere, this timea stampis detached .by the'latter it will be drawn forward and fed to the belt ajnd will afterward moved by said belt up to' the head 92. Irn'nnediately -ov'ei the'belt'is arranged a} combined feeding and moistening ,roller 95", that'is secured to the shaft73..' ,j This roller is hollow for its entire length and is'connected by a tube 97 to a suitable water-reservoir 98 arranged at the upper portion of the The circumference of the'roller is such'thatdurlng a single completerotation itwill feeda single stamp' which has previously been suyfiliedto the belt 95'by the stamp-devtac'hing ock ,83,-and as the stamp passes under the roller 95'-'its ,upp'er gumined surface roe will be moistened before the stamp @passes on .tothehead'QZ; I p

The inoistenin =roller95' is provided with an outer'facing 0 perforated rubber '959, and

foratedwall of the'roller is a linin 95', formed of any absorbent material which would ,pre- 7 i vent thefree pass'ageof the water from the: 7 interior of'th roller, 7 It'isfopnd'in practice that a moistened stampwill'not adhere readilyrto a-rubber surface, and as the rubber. fac- 4 i 5 between this Iouter facing and the innerfpere in 95? is constantly supplied-with water-it; 1

wi l smooth-thegummed surfaceof the stamps as the latter are ed downward, and'the stam s will be retained Ton-the belt 95 and wi l1 e forcedto traveljto the head 92.

provided with bearings for thereception ofatransversely di'sposed shaft 98 '.'carry'ing a cam? 99, that norm llyislield i n depressed po; sition by a helical-termidn spring 100; 5 The upgerfsurface oft-the cam bears against the un er-facejbf the table at' a point near'the "t a; point undertheitable 21- the, frame-is, I

mally is he din depressed position by a helical tension-spring 108. This cam is arranged envelop.

to operate the stamp-attaching lever 91. -At the outer end of the shaft 106 is a rocker-arm 109, having a pin 110,'which enters a slot 104 at a point 1n advance of the pin 103, so that on the rearward movement of the frame the forward wall of the slot will first engage the pin 110 and rock the hollow shaft 106, therebg moving thecam 107 upward and forcing t e'stamp-applying lever upward until the reviously-moistened stamp is applied to the ower face of the envelop. On continued movement the 1n 110 engages the pin 103, and then the ta le is tilted to discharge the In t e operation of the machine, stamps havin been previously placed on thecarrying-r0 ler 52 and the parts properly adjusted, an envelop is placed on the table 13 with the flap open and the pointed edge of the flap ehtered etween the two rollers 15 and 16. The frame 22is then pulled forward, and rack 25 imparts movement to the roller 15 to the extent of a single rotation of the latter, so that the moistened surface of the absorbent 18 engages and moistens the gummed flap of the envelop and deposits the envelop on the table 21, the flap standing upward at an oblique angle to the table, owing to thefold-line between thefiap and the front of the envelop made durlng the course of manufacture of the latter.- Durin a portion of this movement the slots 32 o the links or rods 31 have beenmoved over the pins 34 until therear end'walls ofthe slots engage said pins, whereuponthe bars28 are moved forward, carrying with them the roller 29, and the latter moves over the table 21, folding over and pressing down; the moistened flap of-the. envelofl, This movement also results in the feeding of a stamp from the belt 95 to the stamp-applying head 92,'and at the same time movement s imparted, through the rods and connected mechanism, to the helicallygrooved shaft 46, so that the stamp-carrying roller isadvanced laterally of the machine to the extent of the width of a single stam the feed stopping when a stamp aas been ed to -'tions between the end stamp and the next succeeding stamp m alinement with the edge 81.- On rearward movement of tne operati g-framethere is at first'some considerable lost motion due to the slots 32, and the roller 29' is not moved at the beginnin of the operation. The shaft 63, however, is rocked and the stamp-detaching block moved down to sever and pull away the stamp previously fed on the forward movement of the operatingframe, said stamp being delivered onto the endless belt 95 in readiness to be moistenedv by passing under the roller 95 at the next operation. As the rearward movement of the operating-frame continues the end 'wall'of the slot 104 will enga e the pin 110, thus rocking. the shaft 106 an causing cam 107 to move the stampoperating lever upward and forcing the stamp a ainst the then lower face of the envelop. A out this time the roller 29 starts its rearward movement and passes over the top of the envelop, again pressing on the sealed flap, and at the same time'the roller passes over the top of the envelop in such manner as to ti htly press the latter against the stamp raise to position by the attachinghead 92.

vNear the completion of the movement of the frame 22 the pin 103 will engage the slot 104 and shaft 98 will be rocked, thus movingthe cam 99 against the under side of the table and tilting, the latter to an extent suflicient to allow. the envelops, now ready for mailing, to slide from said table.

The operation may be carried onindefi- 'nitely, and the machinemay be read ly adjusted in order to suit envelops or stamps or lablsof different size.

After the machine has been out of use for a coin aratively long period of time the for war end of the connecti -rod 70 is detached from the frame 22, t ere being a slip connection for the purpose, andthen the roller is moved backward and forward 'once or twice in order to get the .parts pr perly working and to effect the'moistenin of the strip 18 should the latter have sto pe I above the water-line of the roller. he rod 70 may then be attached to the frame and the operation of sealing and stamgmg envelops carried on with great rapidity and exactltude.

Havi is claime is- L. Inmechanism of the class described, the combination with a pair of feed-rollers, one of which is hollow and is provided with .an absorbent section for moistening the flap of an envelop passing betweenthe rollers, a table'or support for the reception of the envelop, and a roller movable over the table to fold and seal a moistened flap.

- 2 In mechanism of the class described, a pair of feed-rollers, one of "h1 ch 1s hollow and is arranged to contain a liquld, a portion of the periphery of the rollerbem formed of absorbent material, a perforate plate for holding the-absorbent material in position, a

support on which the moistened envelop is thus described the invention, what delivered, and means for folding and pressing the moistened flapagainst the body of the envelop.

3. In mechanism of the class described, the combination with a tiltable table, of

- means for feeding an envelop to the table, and for moistening the flap thereof duringits assage, 'means coacting with the table for olding and sealing the flap, and means for tilting said table toeifect the discharge of the "envelop by gravity.

4; In mechanism of theclass described,

. 'the' combination with an envelop-support,

stamp applying me'i 1ber a stamp-carrier, means for detachingsingle stamps from a sheet, "means .for feeding the. detached stamps to the stamp-ap lying member, and

'- means for moistemngt e gummed surface a of the detached stamps dur ng such feeding movement. I

5. In mechanism of the class described, a

' stamp-applying member, means for severing I edge, a stamp-detacher movable-into therer, cess to detach sin'gle stam s, a belt onto single stamps from a sheet, means for feeding single detached stamps from the severingpoint, to the stamp-applyingmember, and

,-means for moistenin'g such detached stamps during-the feeding movement.

. 6. mechanism of the class described,

the combination with a stamp-carrier, of a table over which the stam s are fed, said table having a recess provi ed with a cuttin edge, a stamp-detacher movable into sai recess to detach single stamps, abelt:...0 nto which the stamps are fed, a ollow moisten-- ing to engage the stamps, and a stamp-apply- 'ng device the belt.

.8. In mechanism of the class described, a

table having a recess, means for feeding an unsealed envelo to the. table, 'mean's'for moistening the ap of the envelop, a stampa plying member movable through the recess of the table to.apply a stamp-to the ber, and a .ser r ing-roller arranged above the belt and sen-' to which the stamps are fed from.

lower front face of the envelop, means for feeding a stamp tothe stamp-applying memressure-member coacting with the stamp-app ying member, affix the stamp-and to seal the flap. V

9. In an envelop-sealing and stamp-apand the table, to.

plying machine, asupporting-table, m'ean's sin 1e stamps,.means for moistening the detac ed stamps, means for conveying the stam s to a position under the envelop, and

simu taneously-acting means for presenting the stamps against the lower face of the en velop, and pressingdown the moistened flap of the upper face of the envelop.

' 10. In an envelop-sealing and stamp-ap- -for feeding envelopsto the table and for v moistening' the same, means for detaching plying machine, a recessed table, means for e'eding envelops, onto the table, and for molstening the envelop-flap, a pressure-roller movable over-the envelop to press down the moistened flap,ja stam -applying member arranged under the tab e in alinement with the recess, means for detaching single stam'ps,

means for conveying the detached stamps to the stain -a plying member, means for moistening t e etaehed stamps, and means r for actuating the applying member during the movement of the-envelo -pressing roller. 11: In a machine of the c ass described, a

- stamp-carrier, means for moving the same, a

pivotally-mounted stamp-detacherfor cutting single stamps from the sheet, a yieldablymounted clamping member carried by the stam -detacher and arranged to engage withthe s eet of stamps around the edge of the stamp to be'detached.

12. In a machine of the class described, a

stamp-carrying roller, and a helically-grooved shaft for moving said roller in the direction of its length, .a stamp-detaching device for successive'stam s of a row, and

niean's orreleasing the r0 ler from the shaft to permit its readjustment to initial position J after all of the stamps of a row have been I used. i H 4 In testimony that we .claim the foregoingas our own we have hereto afiiXed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

' JOHN' T. VANNESS. HARIH R. OBRIAN.:.- v.VVitnesses: v

- NORMAN L. ARMISTEAD,

J S. MUDDELL. 

